Essam El-Hadary, the former Egyptian national team goalkeeper, believes that Al-Ahly Club abandoned its principles by including the duo Imam Ashour and Mahmoud Abdel Moneim (Kahraba).

Al-Hadary said in an interview on Kuwaiti radio (Marina FM) today, Wednesday: “There are players who did the same behavior as him by leaving Al-Ahly and others who insulted the Red Castle, the fans and the symbols, and then they joined the team, such as Imam Ashour and Kahraba.”

He added: “I made a mistake in leaving the team to Sion, Switzerland, in the winter of 2008 without the club’s permission, but I did not receive the appropriate appreciation with every renewal of my contract, and the relationship between me and the Portuguese coach Manuel Jose reached a dead end.”

He continued: “I renewed my contract before the 2008 African Cup of Nations with Al-Ahly and I was on my way to stay, but the relationship was bad with Jose, who told me verbatim: Bring us an offer and leave, and Hossam Al-Badri, Adly Al-Qai’i and Ahmed Naji bear witness to this, and this is what happened.” I brought Al-Ahly an offer from Sion, Switzerland.”

Zad Al-Hadary added: “Al-Ahly refused my departure to Sion in the winter of 2008 on the grounds that the file would be postponed until the end of the season, and the president of Sion came himself to Cairo, and instead of being received by Hassan Hamdi, head of the Red Castle, Adly Al-Qai’i, director of contracts, sat with him.”

He pointed out that there were many reasons that prompted him to leave, most notably his dispute with Jose and the withdrawal of the leadership badge from him, explaining that the Portuguese coach was president of the club and not just a technical director.

The Syrian national team goalkeeper coach said: “Manuel Jose repeated the same behavior as me and left Al-Ahly, but because he was Jose, they allowed him to leave and did not speak badly about him, while they attacked Ibrahim Saeed because he left the team, and also Mohamed Shawqi and Essam El-Hadary.”

He confirmed that he did not like Hassan Hamdi, the former president of Al-Ahly, explaining that his relationship with Mahmoud Taher, the former president of Al-Ahly, was special, but he did not decide to return to the Red Castle because during his reign, principles governed the club.